Running from the World
by Namihazure-Sama
Summary: Black Ghost is drawing closer to world domination but his first nine are still getting in the way. In a final effort he assigns a renegade scientist to create more cyborgs to rid of them once and for all. Too bad, these guys rebelled too. R
1. Episode 1: The Great Escape

Disclaimer: I do not own the original cyborg 009 cast (001-009 and Black Ghost). I do however, own the characters Dr.Marshall, cyborgs 0015-0017, and I co-own 00X who belongs to deviantart's vixengal01.

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Episode 1: The Great Escape 

It was quite noisy today. Rumors of a new technological breakthrough were spreading like wildfire throughout the headquarters. Many scientists and followers of the organization gathered from around the globe to hear if these so called rumors were true. The chatter grew louder and louder with each passing second, each and every face anticipating the moment when their leader Black Ghost would finally introduce these new products that would bring the organization to glorious victory against the cyborg rebellion. Then, the room grew silent when the back door opened.

Everyone turned their heads to see their leader, a tall man cloaked in black and his true identity hidden behind a skull-shaped mask walk briskly into the room. Following behind him came another man. He was short in stature and had dark blue hair that looked tousled from much frustration and hard work. There were blotches of grease smeared here and there on his white lab coat. Despite his rough appearance he wore a proud yet twisted grin on his face. His dark pointed glasses shadowed his eyes. The two walked towards the front of the room. Some men seated around the table began to whisper their suspicions to one another. One of the soldiers stationed around the room raised one of his hands in silence as the leader cleared his throat.

" Greetings fellow colleagues. Today I have brought you all here to get a first glimpse of a new age of cybernetic technology. Thanks to Dr. John Marshall's hard work and perseverance he has created new weapons with unimaginable power!" Scientists began to whisper nervously to each other. This was not the reaction Dr. Marshall was expecting. He tapped his foot impatiently on the ground before one of the scientists spoke up. " B-but Black Ghost, we've created so many cyborgs already. The first nine escaped and turned against us while the other four were destroyed. Won't the same thing happen again?" he stuttered. Now Dr. Marshall spoke up, his Russian accent was thick and heavy with every word he said.

" Zhat ish why I constructed zhem vary vary carefully. If zhey ware ever to join zhe rebellion and fight against us I enserted a mihnd-control cheep zhat veel bring zhem bahck to zhere senses. Zhere ish possibly no vay to destroy zhem easily also because zheer skin ish made out of a steel alloy abel to withstand efven radiation! Today, I shall show you all a demonstration of one of my finished experiments." He snickered as the screen beside him pulled up the image of a group of scientists clustered around a figure blanketed in white lying on the operating table.

While you couldn't see most of it's body, the stump of its arm was dangling off the edge and wires hung loosely from the flesh. The camera focused to the other side of the room where a robotic arm was being pieced together. Then, a cry of pain sounded from around where the scientists were gathered. They began to scramble as the figure slowly sat up from the table. One of them shouted, " He's awake! Hold him dow-" but he was suddenly cut off by a high pitched buzzing sound that drowned out the commotion. In an instant, a brilliant red flash blinded the camera. When the light died down all that could be seen was the bodies of the scientists lying motionless on the floor, charred black from intense heat. The blanket that had covered the object had burned off as well showing that the thing it had shielded was merely a boy in his late-teens. The camera zoomed in on the boy's face, which was mostly covered by his dark hair. However, tilting the camera more towards the right revealed that one of his eyes was glowing red. Then, the camera went blank signifying that the tape had come to an end. Dr. Marshall's eyes darted from one man to the other as they nodded their heads in acceptance to his awry cyborg's destructive manner. He bowed his head slightly and smiled. " You are all now free to go. Thank you all for coming."

The men stood up and left in single file. Most of them were heading for the exit except for one who dwindled off to the right and sulked quietly through the corridor until he reached the end of a fork that took him either to the left or to the right. He looked both ways and behind him to make sure no one was following and darted to the left when he caught sight of a hand waving at him out of the corner of his eye. As he ran his appearance suddenly changed into that of another man, a cyborg to be exact.

" So 007, did you get the information we needed?" 009 asked walking silently out of the shadows. " Sure did, mate. I was there for the whole presentation! These blokes have most certainly created a new cyborg!" 009 looked back behind him signaling for the others to come out. A French woman with long blonde hair was the first to step out. Following close behind came a gray-haired man with pale blue eyes that looked back and forth down the seemingly dark hallway and a tall dark man who loomed over the rest of them. " So where can we find this guy?" the German asked.

" I took a good look at the video and saw that the room was labeled "Testing Room 23".

The woman took a few steps towards the cross section of the corridor touching her temples with her delicate fingers. Her emerald eyes focused beyond the continuous hall that stretched on in front of her. " Testing Room 23 is a few hallways down. It's guarded by robotic centries stationed in front of the door and throughout the corridor."

"Is there anyway around them 003?" 009 spoke up. "No it doesn't seem like it." She sighed. Her gaze focused back to the door of the testing room but noticed that something wasn't right. The few robots that were guarding the door were now destroyed, their pieces scattered on the ground. 003 turned around and opened her mouth to say something but the sudden blaring of the security alarms stopped her. The five cyborgs jumped at the sound of crashing metal and explosions coming from the opposite hallway. 009 nodded and they all ran towards the source of the sound.

"Hold on!" 009 shouted as they reached a corner. They all stopped in their tracks. Something, or someone was coming up the hallway. Soon a clatter of footsteps could be heard and as the cyborgs braced themselves for the enemy to emerge only a boy came running past them turning sharply around the corner. Before he was about to vanish into the darkness he suddenly stopped completely. He turned around and spotted the five cyborgs, looking them over with inquiring eyes before he idled towards them. He wore the standard cyborg suit, which surprised 009, and he had long dark hair that was tied loosely in the back. One of his eyes was a normal dark gray, almost black under his orange-tinted goggles but the other glowed an eerie crimson red. As he glanced from one cyborg to the other it seemed to study them, almost as if it were analyzing them.

" So I take it that you guys are supposed to be the rescue party?" he questioned crossing his arms. His voice was quite rich and mature for his age and his pronunciation of some words were a little off signifying that English wasn't entirely his native language. " I don't need your help to get out of here. I've taken care of most of the guards already and I'm about to take out the security system."

The 00-cyborgs looked at one another in bewilderment. _Wasn't this kid the cyborg that 001 had told them to pick up because they were in danger?_ 009 thought as he looked back at the impatient teen in front of him.It didn't seem like it considering that he had escaped from his experimentation room without haste._ It seems like his actions and intentions have been planned out from the start._ 009's thoughts were interrupted however when the boy spoke again. "While you guys continue gawking at one another I think I'll be going now." His words were a bit rushed and he began taking steps backwards. Before any of them could say anything he turned on his heel and made a break through the hallway once more. 009 braced himself to click his accelerator switch but a familiar child's voice reached his ears. 'Wait 009! Let him go.'

"But 001, aren't we supposed to collect him?"

'Yes but we will catch up with him later. You'll see. Gather everyone to meet back at the Dolphin.'

Confused, he motioned everyone to head back towards the exit….

Meanwhile…

" Hey wake up!"

A small girl with blonde hair lying on an operating table began to slowly open her eyes. She blinked a few times before her vision finally focused on a woman standing above her. " Vhat is going on?" she cried in fear.

"Calm down I'll explain later. I need to get you out of here." She felt herself being lifted in the woman's arms and was lightly placed on her feet. "Can you walk?" the woman asked. " Yes, I zhink so." She took a few precarious steps before found her balance. She turned around to look at her rescuer to see that she was a tall, tan woman with short wild hair that covered one of her honey-colored eyes. She wore an odd red and gold suit with a long flowing scarf tied loosely around her neck. " Who are you?" she asked, her bright blue eyes grew wide. " I'm here to rescue you little miss. Now follow me and make sure you keep quiet. We don't want the guards to notice us now do we?"

"Guards? Rescue?"

She caught sight of a mirror at the edge of the room and walked towards it. She too was wearing that strange suit except her scarf was somewhat shorter. " I do not understand. vhat is going on?"

"It'll all be made clear if you come with me. We need to escape." The lady motioned for the child to follow. She hesitated a bit before she ran alongside her. Outside the room was a long corridor. " Quick. This way!" she took hold of the girl's hand and dashed down the hallway. However, a few robots stood in their path. The girl gasped while the woman stood in front of her to protect her. " I'll handle this. Stay close." She took out a space gun from a holster on her hip and began to shoot at the robots with deadly accuracy. They all exploded into pieces. " Keep up!" She commanded as they continued to dash down the hallway into the darkness.

Not to far from their location, a dark-haired boy was slinking in the shadows of a dimly lit testing room. There was something in this room that caught his eye and he sought to find out what it was. His red eye focused on the operating table in front of him. A girl was sitting up rubbing her eyes sleepily. The sound of him entering the testing room must have woken her up he thought. She blinked and looked towards his direction. " Who's there?" she asked defensively. She grabbed one of the doctor's utensils that lay next to her. She then pushed herself off of the table and began to walk towards him. She too was wearing the same outfit that he was and her gray eyes had a dangerous look upon them. He stood up from the metal boxes he was hiding behind, raising his arms above his head in surrender. " Look's like you caught me. Let's not do anything rash and hurt anyone now. I'm here to help you." He smirked as she lowered the scalpel but she kept her eyes narrowed on him. " I don't know if I can trust you. I don't even know where I am or what's going on in the first place." She frowned a bit, maintaining her grip on the tool in her hand. " Well if you follow me then I'll help you. We don't have much time."

" So you know where we are then?"

An alarm began to go off. " This isn't good." He grumbled. He turned over his shoulder and pointed towards the door. A look of mixed panic and frustration could be seen on his face. " If you want to make it out of here alive then follow me!" He shouted. She too felt disturbed by the sudden sirens. Her eyes grew wide. She took a step towards him. " Wait! You haven't explained anything to me! Where am I? Who are you? And why should we run?" Her persistence began to annoy him. " I have no time for this!" He furiously grabbed her by the wrist and started to drag her with him. She winced at his grip, which was surprisingly strong. She glanced at the hand that had snatched her and her eyes widened even more. He didn't have a normal hand; it was dark and metallic almost like a robot's. " What's with-?" She couldn't finish her sentence because the boy suddenly stopped and let go of her hand. She rubbed her wrist, glad that the pressure was slowly being relieved and that the feeling was coming back to her. " What was that for?" she protested. Three massive robots appeared in front of them, their guns pointed at them. "Halt cyborgs! Return to your rooms at once!" One of them commanded. _Cyborgs?_ The girl looked nervously at her supposed savior whose gaze was focused upon the guards. " Return to your rooms!" It shouted once more. The robots were now prepared to fire. The boy put his fingers behind his ears and made a pinching and twisting motion with them. To her surprise, his unnatural red eye began to glow and in a brilliant red flash a laser fired at their enemies, slicing through them cleanly in two.

She was utterly confused. _He can't be human can he?_ She snapped out of her thoughts as a familiar tugging forced her to continue to run. Whoever this person was, she would have to trust him. The two cyborgs reached a dimly lit section of the corridor this time. The boy adjusted his goggles to slide up to the bridge of his nose. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face; his features were tense. He pulled up the sleeve of his right arm to reveal his mechanical arm that glinted darkly under the soft light of the electric lamps perched on the sides of the walls. He put a finger to his lips for silence as they pressed onwards. Someone was coming. No, more than one. A pair of footsteps could be heard echoing throughout the empty shaft. Bracing himself, he raised his metal arm defensively to his side, fingers up. The sounds approached nearer and nearer still but he was ready to strike. As two figures focused into the picture he sprang out with his fingers poised at the neck of the taller silhouette. Vice versa, the figure had her gun aimed at his head.

"Are you 00X?" he whispered, studying the woman who had snuck up on them.

" Judging by your mechanics and your bold but brash attempt to attack me, you must be 0015." She lowered the gun to her side. A sarcastic smile graced her lips. " Yes, I'm 00X and I'm the one who woke you." She glanced down at the young brunette at his side who looked who had a puzzled look about her. " So I see you actually followed my orders and picked up the other girl. So you still have a will of your own." She sighed in what seemed to be relief. " We need to get out of here. I have some friends of mine who came to pick us up."

"Friends?" the little blonde girl in braids spoke up from behind her. " So zhere are others? And zhey have come to save us?"

"Yes, now come on kids, we don't have much time."

The four of them sprinted towards the light ahead of them which opened up into a massive air carrier housed with a variety of crafts. 00X spotted a particular aircraft to her liking and motioned for the rest of the group to board. However, troops had stationed themselves around them blocking their exit. A short, blue-haired man walked towards them with a twisted smile on his face. " Now vhere do you zhink you are going my precious experiments?" He glanced at 00X who scowled at him. " Ah, so I see zhat you are in on Professor Gilmore's side, no? I cannot allow that, oh no not at all." He narrowed his eyes at her. " I have created zhese children to be the next generation of an entirely new age of cybernetics. They are mine to have and mine to control!"

0015 stepped forward; he was outraged. He lifted his arm at the doctor and his arm clicked like the trigger of a loaded gun. The professor only smirked. " Oh ho! You think you can scare me 0015? I know all of your weaknesses; I could kill you in an instant!" A low growl rose in his voice. He wouldn't tolerate any further nonsense from these four. " Capture them all!" he furiously ordered. The battalion began to close in on them. All of a sudden the four cyborgs had disappeared in an instant. The soldiers looked at one another in confusion. Dr. Marshall however, gritted his teeth in anger as he watched a hijacked plane fly off into the distance...

On board, 00X gave a heavy sigh of relief. Using her psychic powers weren't always easy, especially teleportation. She was at least glad that she had managed to get these kids safe from harm. She looked back from the control panel to see the two girls talking amongst each other. The boy, code-named 0015, was sitting opposite them looking out at the window with a blank expression on his face. She switched the controls to "Autopilot" and turned the chair around to face them. " I guess you all want an explanation as to what's going on don't you?" They all nodded. "Where should I begin?"

"Where were we to begin with?" The sixteen-year-old brunette asked her. " You were all in a laboratory under a secret organization called Black Ghost."

"Black Ghost?"

" It's a group that creates weapons of mass destruction and profits from them."

"But vhat do ve have to do vith zhem?" the youngest questioned. " Well… like me, you children were kidnapped off of the streets to become part of their newest project. Advanced human beings called cyborgs. You all were reconstructed into weapons to be used to dominate the world. However, you are considered the third generation. The first two rebelled against their creators and escaped before they could be taken over completely."

"So we're weapons, huh? It didn't take me that long to figure it out." 0015 looked over his metal arm. There was a moment of silence before 00X spoke again. " If you all haven't noticed. We've been given code names. For example, I'm 00X." She pointed towards the boy. " He's 0015. He was created before you two. And if I'm correct," She looked at the blonde child. "You're 0016," then at the teenage girl beside her. " And you're 0017."

0017 didn't like these numbered names. " Can we not call each other numbers? It just doesn't sound right."

00X smiled. " If you insist. We'll call each other by our real names. I'm Rosena Raveheart from Brooklyn, New York. Just call me Rose."

0016 stood up. "I am Brigitta Känin from Sveden."

0017 came next. " I'm Ava from The Bronx."

The three girls looked at the final member who gave them a half-hearted smile as he crossed his arms. " I'm Makani… from Hawaii."

Rose couldn't help but giggle. _What cute kids_ she thought to herself. For cyborgs they were more human than she had thought. However, what troubled her most was that she was unaware of the abilities that these children possessed. Those thoughts had to be put aside for now though, she looked on their smiling faces and she too smiled as they flew off into the sunset…

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(A.N/ so this concludes the first chapter of the story. This is my first real work so far other than the previous Avatar fan fiction that I created and posted a long time ago under a different pen name. Please do not post any flames, just constructive criticism in the least. Reviews would be great )


	2. Episode 2: The Meeting

Episode 2: The Encounter

Episode 2: The Meeting

" What a morning."

Makani outstretched himself uncomfortably on a boulder lying flat on the wet sand. The group had been in Japan for a fortnight since their escape from the Black Ghost laboratory where they were held. In the meantime they were lying low. Apparently, Rose had them land in Tokyo for a special reason because she left quite early saying that she had an "errand" to run. The three children decided to hang out around the hotel they were staying at until she returned. He was tired of staying cooped up and decided to get some fresh air by walking on the beach. It had seemed like forever since he had last looked out at the ocean. It was pretty dreary this morning. Thick dark clouds that seemed to stretch on even past the horizon blanketed the sky, shadowing the sea that lay below it. Even though it was overcast, just a glint of sunshine peeked through holes in the clouds lighting up a few patches of water here and there. A slight breeze ruffled his black sleeveless jacket; one of many articles of clothing he picked out when they went shopping the night before. It was a pain however because he stood out compared to the girls with his cybernetic eye and limb. Many onlookers stared at him and whispered to one another at his presence. Luckily, he had picked out a white long-sleeved shirt to match and Ava was nice enough to loan him a pair of dark sunglasses to hide his eye. Still, he felt like a flamingo in a flock of pigeons among them. He kicked at the water a bit making the small splashes soak his sandals. The water was cool under his feet. He closed his eyes and thought of his home: White, sandy beaches, sparkling water, and his father's resort…

He stopped for a moment. _My pop…I wonder what he's up to… and the twins. Do they even know what's happened to me?_ He pondered this. _Do they even know what happened __**that**__ morning?_

" Hey, Makani!"

He turned to see Ava approaching him. " What are you doing all the way out here?" She sat on top of a rock beside him but didn't look at him; her gaze was focused out at the sea. " It's really pretty. I've never been out to see the ocean before." She paused, looking down at a crab scuttling past her feet. " I've lived in the city all of my life. You know, busy streets, bustling people, blaring car horns. There was never any silence… or calmness for that matter. But being here, I've almost completely forgotten all of that. Still…" Ava turned to face him. " Do you miss your home sometimes?"

Makani looked up at the sky. He'd rather not talk about home right now. He didn't know if he'd ever be able to return to it in his current state. Ava gave him a disapproving scowl. " Ever since we were rescued from that lab you've hardly said a word. You don't want to talk or anything! What's the matter?"

He was losing his patience. " Alright then. If you don't want to talk that's fine." She looked away from him and he did the same. There was an air of tension here, Ava had thought. Rose and Brigitta were the friendliest people she had ever met but Makani on the other hand was self-centered most of the time. She didn't know what to say. Was she asking too many bothersome questions?

Makani sat up from the rock he was leaning on and crossed his arms. Without looking back at Ava he started to walk away towards the hotel. Ava couldn't help but growl in frustration. He was tough. She had no other choice but to follow after him, kicking up sand as she dashed in his direction.

The two reached the front gates of the Hirikaido Hotel where Rose was standing near a black vehicle speaking with a short, gray-haired old man with a big nose. Brigitta was next to her nodding her head slightly towards the direction of the approaching teenagers. Rose looked up and the man turned around. He looked them over with a surprising grin on his face as if he had known them. "Come over here you two, there's someone here that I want you to meet." They ambled over curiously. " Makani, Ava, this is Professor Isaac Gilmore. I ran into him not too long ago." The professor gave a gentle wave and a smile at them. " It's a pleasure to meet you two."

"Professor? Does that mean-?"

" Yes, he was a former Black Ghost scientist if that's what you're thinking Ava."

"Former?"

" He's on our side."

Ava was surprised. " I'm sure that 00X here hasn't told you about the liberated cyborgs has she? Well, you see my dear; I used to be in charge of the first generation and part of the second-generation cyborg project. I created cyborgs 002 through 009 and 00X. However, I grew tired of working for Black Ghost and I helped them all escape."

"He is such a nice man." Brigitta said from behind Rose. " Zhanks to Mr. Gilmore we too have been saved." The Professor nodded. " Yes. It's been a year since we've escaped and we had just gotten news that one of my old students, whom I had taken under my wing since he was a lad, had been assigned to continue a line of cyborgs. Your third generation. I sent my team to have you all liberated but as you can see, 00X went ahead and rescued you all before 009's group had the chance. However, I did hear that 009 had a run-in with one of you."_ So that's who they were…_ Makani remembered running into them during their departure from the laboratory. " But anyways," Rose spoke again. " I've picked you up so now we're going to head to our new home. We're gonna meet the rest of the team." All three children were eager with this news. They felt a little less lonely now. " Please step into the car and we'll be on our way." The group hopped in and they sped away towards the coastline. After a few hours, the car pulled into a cobblestone driveway next to a cozy-looking two-story house. Through the driveway, they passed through an opened gate; on the side a sign read "Kozumi" in Japanese. "How charming." Makani whispered sarcastically under his breath. He could see Rose scowling at him from the rear view mirror. " Well, this is it." Professor Gilmore replied being the first to step out of the car. The others followed him as he walked up to the front porch and knocked on the door. A short old man with thick glasses opened it. " Oh Gilmore! I was wondering when you would return… and I see you've brought company. Come on in everyone." The cheery old man, presumed to be Dr. Kozumi, invited them slowly into the living room.

" Well it's about time you came back Rosie." A tall, spiky-haired American was the first to greet them. Rose knocked him on top of his head. " Don't call me Rosie or you'll be sorry next time, Jet!" She had a fierce look on her but the tint of red in her cheeks suggested that she was blushing. He rubbed his sore head. " Easy there. Don't set a bad example for the kids now." Ava raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. " Not all of us are children you know." She chided. Jet glanced at the girl at first but he than did a double take when he noticed her dark eyes and her orange hair. " You're quite an interesting one little lady. What's your name?"

"Ava." She replied.

" And your last name?" _Why did he want to know that?_

"Link." She answered. He paused; he apparently looked like he was shocked to hear the name. " Well… what's the name of-"?

"Can we change the subject please?" Rose interrupted. " You can ask questions later. These kids should meet the rest of the team and we should all have lunch together." Jet shrugged and flopped onto a couch. At that moment two men entered the room; a British middle-aged man and a short, pudgy Chinese man. " Well, hello there old chaps. I see that the fair Miss Raveheart has returned to us and that she's brought some guests." He raised the cup of tea he was holding to them. " Oh my. Guests? I'd better start preparing lunch soon. I'm making my special Seafood Medley today."

" It sounds delicious." Rose said cheerfully. The three children's stomachs could be heard growling behind her. Ava and Makani were slightly embarrassed. " Lunch vhould be nice." Brigitta spoke up rubbing her belly. " Lunch it is then." The short man went through the door and disappeared into the kitchen.

" Did someone say lunch?"

A gray-haired man now walked into the room followed by a boy who looked a few years older than Makani and Ava. A woman holding a blue-haired baby in her arms also entered. Makani remembered these three from when he was escaping from the laboratory. " Rose, we're glad your back. We returned to the Dolphin but you weren't aboard." The blond-haired woman said. She glanced at the three cyborgs behind Rose. " Oh! You've rescued the children! I'm so glad." _When have Ava and I suddenly become kids?_ Makani's eye twitched in annoyance. "Yep, they're all safe and sound." Rose turned back to look at them. "Why don't you guys introduce yourselves? I'm sure these guys are just as eager to meet you as you are to them." Brigitta was the first to step up. " I am 0016 but please call me Brigitta. I am from Sveden." She curtsied politely. "It is a pleasure to meet you all."

" What a little angel." 007 admiringly commented. Ava was next. " I'm 0017, call me Ava. I come from the Bronx, New York." Makani stood motionless. Ava looked back at him concerned. " I'm 0015, Makani of Hawaii." He frowned back at her. _How troublesome… _Brigitta couldn't help but giggle a bit. "Makani is not always zhis unhappy. He can smile. See?" Brigitta stretched his mouth into a silly grin. You could tell by the look on his face that he was pretty embarrassed by his comrads' childishness in front of his new acquaintances. " Sto-it Briggit le go o' my mouff." He said through his teeth. 007 couldn't help but give a hearty laugh. "These kids sure are a lively bunch aren't they? I think they should join us don't you think 009?" Brigitta had let go of Makani's mouth and he spoke up to protest. " We don't need you guys we can take care of ourselves." Hearing this Brigitta grabbed Makani's jacket and pulled him down to her face, a very bewildered and surprised look in his eyes. "Vhat!? Vhat are you talking about!? Can you not see zhese are all nice people?" She whispered loudly, audible enough for only Makani to hear. Makani opened his mouth but only said nothing. _Oh well. I guess she's right._ He avoided her eyes, a little frustrated from giving in too quickly. He and Brigitta focused back on the other cyborgs; there were now eight of them in the room minus the short Asian cook. " Well, now that that's settled allow me to introduce myself." The young red-eyed boy began to speak. " I'm 009, the last of the second generation cyborgs. My real name is Joe Shimamura and I come from Japan." He pointed to each cyborg one by one as he continued:

" The guy on the couch that you met earlier is 002. His name is Jet Link from New York." Ava raised an inquiring eyebrow. " Next to me are Françoise Arnoul and Ivan Wiskey. To the right of me is Albert Heinrich," he waved at them. " In the corner is Great Britain. Chang is in the kitchen right now but he'll be out soon. Pyunma and G Junior just walked in." Joe's smile turned into a discouraging frown when he noticed that someone was missing. " Does anyone know where Miss Agnesi is?" The others silently shook their heads. " Who's she?"

"You see, we had met another cyborg before we had met you, Rose. She just came to visit earlier but I'm guessing that she had gone out again." Albert sighed. " That woman really drives me up the wall sometimes. We were at it again today so maybe she went out for a cup of coffee to calm her nerves." Sure enough, the sound of a door opening reached the ears of the cyborgs and the rich smell of roasted coffee filled the air. A tall and slender woman stepped into the room sipping from a mug. Without noticing the others she glanced at the three children. " So I see we have company today. I'm hoping that Mr. Changku caught more than one fish this time or else the little urchins will unfortunately starve this afternoon." _There was that word again. _This time she had successfully made the variant even more demeaning to them. Ava would have loved to retort but Joe cut in. " This is Miss Vesper Agnesi. She's been living with us for a while. She too is an escapee from Black Ghost. Vesper, this is Makani, Brigitta, Ava and Rose."

" Charmed." She replied. " I'd be in a more pleasant mood if it wasn't for a questionable fellow who seemed to be watching me at the café. There was something about him that didn't feel right. However, he made no attempt to approach me. I'm guessing that he wasn't a part of that so called Black Ghost or whatever that you all fret about but he was quite shady… nonetheless familiar at the same time."

" Are you implying that there's another one of us out there?" Jet was suddenly perked up by this news. " Not entirely."

"If there was any danger I would have sensed it by now. Black Ghost usually shows its face right away." Françoise massaged her temples in an attempt to verify herself. " We'll keep this in mind. If there is any danger we'll be ready for it." _This Joe seemed to have a lot of confidence_ Makani thought. " I'd love to see the way that turns out if that may be the case. Until then I'll be in my room." Vesper had an edge of sarcasm in her voice that irritated Rose. She glared at her as she disappeared down the hallway, her coffee still in hand. " Well, she sure seems like Miss Congeniality. What's her problem?" Jet shrugged. " We're _**all**_ unsure."

" Whatever it is it doesn't matter now." Joe said dismissing the subject. " Why don't you guys come upstairs and I'll show you to your rooms. There's plenty of space here so make yourselves at home." Ava and Brigitta appreciated his kindness. They grabbed their bags and followed him up the stairs; Makani walked behind them. The four approached a door to the far left corner of the hall and Joe happily opened the door. They were greeted by a bright room with three beds just for them. The window revealed a magnificent view of the shining sea where a cliff loomed over its waters. Joe smiled at the admirable expressions on their faces. " We were looking forward to your arrival today. It's like our little cyborg family just got bigger."

" We're glad that you're kind enough to let us stay here. The lab wasn't even near as cheery as this place."

"Indeed." Brigitta added.

" I also agree. If it wasn't for you guys we would still be Black Ghost's guinea pigs." Makani smirked as he leaned against the doorframe crossing his arms. " But like you said, we're all kids. This whole experience is hard for most of us to accept. We now have abilities that may not only harm others but ourselves too." Joe sat on one of the beds and folded his arms. " You're very right. When I first joined the team I too realized how much these modifications of ours would affect us. I guess you'd call the whole situation almost alien so to speak." He closed his eyes. " You said it." Ava replied. " Brigitta and I haven't even discovered our powers yet."

" Don't worry. We'll help you learn how to use them when they do begin to surface. We're all in this together, just like family." These words were encouraging to them all. They finally felt trust among these people; something that they hadn't felt at the laboratory. A call from downstairs signaled that lunch had been served. The warm aroma drifted into the room and the four headed for the living room eager to eat…

Meanwhile…

A figure clad in a dark suit and matching fedora approached the beachside house scanning the area from behind his sunglasses. He lit a cigarette that he had taken out of one of his pockets and exhaled the gray smoke. " I see that you've finally caught up. How long do you think we'll be staying incognito? I'm getting tired of this get-up." Another figure ambled towards him, this time it was a woman. She tossed a lock of her dusky hair from her eyes. " The outfit was your idea anyways. Either way, it won't be long. We've found the house. All we have to do is wait for the opportune moment to make our move…"


End file.
